My Rant On Coin Prices On The Bay .

^ this. I will discount ebay prices 8-10% at shows or direct with a check, but of course if someone finds you through ebay, there is no way to share contact information with them to make a deal without ebay getting involved. They have even threatened to charge you final value fees if they have evidence that you exchanged contact info to do the deal "offline".

ebay prices are no better than the prices of everywhere on the whole: most are crap and a few are good. The worse prices are usually casual sellers who aren't really in the business or hobby and don't realize the price they should be selling for.

Just as an example, I bought some coin webbings on ebay for $1 each. I saw them at a coin show in January and the person wanted $12 each for them.

A lot of antique shops I visit expect $15 for average grade franklin and liberty halves. The coin shops sell them for $7, sometimes less.

A lot of the same antique shops expect $10-15 for average circulated $1 silver certificates. Many outdoor flea markets I've seen want $3 each for them, and a coin shop a distance away from me wants $2.

An antique shop I went to last week wanted "$35 firm" on an average grade Columbian half dollar. I recently tried to make an offer on one on ebay because I liked its toning. He wanted $35 for one that had obvious wear on it but was calling a BU, and auto-rejected my offer. It sold a day later to some unsuspecting fool.

ebay used to be awful for WW2 occupation money. Now they're so-so but nowhere near as good as local dealers who have surpluses that they can't get rid of.

I remember seeing one description on ebay where a seller said he put up a 1921 high relief Peace dollar for around $60. It didn't sell and he sold it at a show for double that.

I've bought a few golden dollar blank planchets on ebay for $27 each. Their Red Book value is $85.

I could make an endless list like this of the prices I've seen -- both bargains and ripoffs, both online and at shows. Point is, the only thing they have in common is you have to look around and not jump at something just because it's the only one for sale at any given moment.

ebay has a major advantage that no show or dealer does: the size of its audience. There have been so many times I've seen some random, obscure token, notgeld, or anything unusual, run immediately to ebay looking for it and sure enough there's *one* person selling it. I've gotten tons of good deals that way.

@ T-BOP
ebay is a nice place to buy coins .....but .
You have to know ,what are you buying and especially ,know the market prices ...sometimes you can be very lucky.
Before you place a bid or buy in ebay ,check for values *first* :

https://www.NGCcoin.com/price-guide...tates/cents/
This is only an example,they have a section for world-wide too

Lots of great stuff on the Bay as well as dealer home sites. I tend to buy slabbed material as a rule, but never without return privileges. I always ask questions (if any) before bidding or buying, and frequently make offers to independent dealers or on "Buy It Now" lots. It's easy to haggle on-line.

Above all, only deal with reputable dealers both on and off the Bay.

I know, I hate the bay. I was burnt on a 1980 DO F'S-101 not! They then inserted a thank you card signed by a child...? What a crummy way to sell coins. In spite of that I have picked up a 1982 DO-F'S-101 cleaned, a 1971 F'S-101, and a nice AU 1972 DDO for under book. There's still some oldtime horse traders out there wanting to fairly move coins but boy their in the minority.
Bashing ebay makes me feel empowered also.

Right, there are bargains to be had on ebay as long as you are knowledgeable and don't be too competitive with the "nobody is outbidding me on this one" attitude. I see people post all the time on CCF the great deals they got on large cents, although I just can't seem to be the one to find any!

I have a lame theory that because the stock market is up, coin prices on ebay are up also. The pickin's are also slimmer for the same reason. Less people are selling and there are less available true auctions than there was, let's say two years ago, or even last year. I work fairly hard at trying to find good deals, and they are still there, but few. Classic coins are harder to find, and "Modern Coinage" is taking over I feel this is just a trend though, and things will turn around at some point. Technically, it seems like a "sellers" market, but sellers don't really need the money, so the prices remain high with not much movement. Just my .02

This is a really good topic. ebay is pretty much my life line to coins. Having said that, I am at the sellers mercy in what I pay. There are indeed deals to be found. Many prices are very high but when you have no other alternative what are you gonna do? I mainly focus on Canadian coins and living in the USA makes it very challenging...higher shipping prices, longer shipping times, etc. Often the photos of the coins you buy are not always that good so you may get something different from what you were expecting. If I had a local coin shop I'd go there. But even then there is no guarantee they'll deal in Canadian coins. I live in rural northern Michigan so my options are not good. I have been burned, and I have scored big. There are certain coins I am VERY picky about and that's ok.